Bedbugs Spreading at Alarming Rate

Bedbugs are spreading at an alarming rate across the nation and an Oklahoma City family said their apartment is infested.

Wednesday, April 15th 2009, 6:26 pm

By: News 9


By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Bedbugs are spreading at an alarming rate across the nation and an Oklahoma City family said their apartment is infested.

Although the problem is nation-wide, the Nikolaidis family said their apartment is infested with the bugs, forcing the family to fight them off every day.

Two-year-old KaysiMae has been bitten repeatedly by the bedbugs. Her mother, Jennifer Nikolaidis, said at first, she thought there were fleas in her apartment, but after inspecting her couch, she found bedbugs were making a home.

"They're in the carpet, they're everywhere," Nikolaidis said. "We found some in our hanging-up clothes, they're everywhere."

It's a problem so wide-spread, several hundred people gathered this week in Arlington, Virginia for the nation's first ever Bedbug Summit.

Learn more about what the Mayo Clinic has to say about Bedbugs.

Entomologists said the bedbug resurgence is a nationwide nuisance impacting all 50 states.

"The numbers are getting up so high now that almost everybody has had some personal experience with bedbugs," said Entomologist Dini Miller.

Nikolaidis had to throw away her old bed, some of her furniture and is now looking for a new place to live.

She doesn't have the money for a professional exterminator or the patience to put up another fight.

Learn how to rid your home of bedbugs.

"They itch so bad, and it's non-stop," Nikolaidis said. "We've tried sleeping on the floor. We've tried everything. The only way we don't get bit up is by not being here."

The Environmental Protection Agency said there are two reasons the nation is seeing a rise in bedbug infestations.

One would be an increase in international traveling to countries which never eradicated them completely.

The other problem is the lack of chemicals on the market approved for residential use, but that's something some U.S. lawmakers are working to change.

 

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